I Suppose So
by Aurum19
Summary: Garan and Adri share a sweet moment between them. (Please read the Author's Note :) Also, I made sure Adri wasn't OOC.)


**Author's Note (Sorry, this is long) : I'm not sure if A** **dri and Garan had an arranged marriage, but in this one-shot they did. Also, AU where Cinder didn't come to live with them and the girls are growing up with Adri and Garan, though Garan and Adri are younger than in canon in this story. (In honor of family-time during the holidays!)**

 **NOTE: _This_ _was not meant to justify any horrible action Linh Adri has done. I do not like her one bit - she's a horrible person._ HOWEVER, I do truly believe she and Garan loved each other and she probably _seemed_ like a more okay person with Garan around. I also wrote this because the holiday season, for me, has always been about caring and loving. Also... This idea has been in my head for a while.**

 **I highly recommend you listen to the song** _Do You Love Me?_ **from** _Fiddler on the Roof (_ **any version but I prefer the 2016 album _) before reading this, so it doesn't sound like Garan is just being pushy or something. This one-shot was inspired from the song._**

 **Some of these lines are taken directly from the song. NOTE: I do not own the characters OR the song/lyrics I borrowed.**

* * *

Adri winced slightly as she poked her finger with the needle she was embroidering with. Bringing the finger to her lips, she used her other hand to straighten her already-perfectly-situated skirt. She glanced at her poked finger and furrowed her eyebrows.

 _When will that man come in from his tinkering? All he ever does is work, work work - all day, all night._ Adri grimaced and turned her gaze to the window. She shook her head, deeply sighing. _He_ never _takes a break, that one. Why did I choose to marry him?_

Sometimes Adri liked to pretend she had married out of choice, not out of necessity. Her parents had told her on her wedding day, right before she saw Linh Garan for the first time, "Don't worry, Adri, dear. You'll learn to love him in time." She had looked up at them, feeling nothing but confusion. How could they tell _her_ she would fall in love when they hadn't even done so themselves?

Adri scoffed at the window, then shook her head, turning away. It was useless to think about it. Better just imagine things were the way she would like them to be. Adri picked up her embroidery again and began threading the needle through the cloth. _In-and-out, in-and-out._ Any stitch that didn't belong was taken out. _In-and-out..._

The door softly creaked on its hinges. Adri closed her eyes, resting the cloth on her lap again. She sucked on her teeth as she lifted her chin and glared at the wall across from her.

"Both the girls are in bed, Garan."

She heard a sigh and could imagine _so clearly_ the tired slump of his shoulders. The dark circles under his eyes. The calluses on his fingertips. The slackness of his jaw. Yet, despite all of that, he still kindled a bright, hopeful flame in his kind, dark eyes. The thought of that made her resolve weaken a little. In response to that feeling, her scowl deepened.

"I am so sorry, Adri."

Adri heard her curt reply, not quite registering what she was saying. "Yes, I'm sure you are." She stood up, posture ramrod straight as she stalked towards the kitchen. "I have dinner prepared."

"Adri..." She heard the softness in his voice. She _knew_ he had been working so hard. Well, she had been busy too. And _somehow_ she had figured out a way to spend time with her family. She _had the right_ to be irritated with him.

 _But I'm not mad._

Adri slammed a mental fist down on that thought. She was going to pretend she felt that way until it was real. That's what she had always done. If she pretended her wishful reality actually _was_ reality, things were quite a lot easier to deal with. Meddling in the complicated dealings of emotions was much too petty for someone of Linh Adri's status.

"Adri, I truly am sorry. I am so close... I'm on the verge of a breakthrough! This could be life-changing!" The excitement in his voice was genuine, though his voice itself was weak.

Adri spooned the food into a plate and set it down in front of him, not looking at him. The moment she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to resist it. Garan was so very convincing, him and his _hope._ He always had that spark in his eye... Adri mechanically sat down next to him.

"Enjoy the food."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Adri saw Garan open his mouth, then shake his head in resignation. He bowed his head and began eating obediently.

Silence.

The tension was so incredibly thick it could be sliced in half.

For fifteen minutes, Adri did not spare Garan a glance. She continued to sit stiffly, jaw clenched.

She heard a fork clink against the side of the plate.

"Are you finished?"

Garan didn't reply. Adri was tempted to look at him, but resisted. She knew he was looking at her in that way of his. The way that made her want to break down and cry about everything she had ever been upset about. It made her want to reveal every bit of herself - parts that she didn't even know existed. But she knew he was looking at her that way that made her feel like he _already knew_ these things. Like he could see straight through her masquerades, all the way to her soul. Adri inhaled and held the breath for some seconds. _One. Two. Three. Four. Five._ Exhale. Once again. _One. Two. Three. Four. Five._ Exhale.

"Adri," he began. Adri wove her fingers together in her lap and closed her eyes, not responding. Garan cleared his throat.

"Adri, do you love me?"

Adri's eyes flew open and she whipped her head around instinctively, strands coming out from her already-loose bun. Her jaw hung in the most unladylike fashion. Blood rushed to her cheeks and butterflies erupted violently in her stomach.

"Do I _what?!_ " Her voice had risen to a shriek of borderline hysteria. Garan's eyes had widened, obviously surprised, and he looked over his shoulder, towards Peony and Pearl's bedrooms. He tapped a finger against his lips and locked his eyes on Adri's again.

"Do you love me?" His voice was quieter now.

"Do I _love_ you?" Adri knew her face was contorted into an outrageous expression of confusion and surprise. She could not digest this. Despite all her pretending, she had had an _arranged marriage_ to this man. _Love_ was never really part of the question. _Surviving_ was. _Love_ simply did not make sense in Adri's mind. Why was he asking this? So many emotions were igniting in Adri's entire body...

The worst part was that Adri didn't know what they were.

The only thing Adri could think of saying was, "Do _I_ love _you?"_

Garan stared even more intently into Adri's eyes.

"That's my question." A firm statement, said like a breeze's kiss.

Adri gaped like a fish. What could she say to a question like that? But seeing the light in Garan's eyes... She didn't know how to say no. Adri shook her head, startled. Her mind was a whirlwind of responses - though none of them made sense.

"Of all questions! There are so many other things to speak of, and you speak of _this?"_ Adri continued to babble. She began listing things off on her fingers. "Pearl is getting close to marrying age, we are struggling to afford even the _simplest_ of luxuries, the plague-" Adri shuddered, then continued. "So many things! You must be tired, to think of such nonsense." Adri stood up. "Go lie down, take rest. That project you're working on his wearing you out, I can see." Adri picked up Garan's plate and quickly turned away from him. "So many things to do," she muttered. She heard the chair scrape the floor and Garan's callused fingers gently held her wrist. Adri could break out easily, had she wanted to. Instead, she faced him again. His dark eyes were pleading. And that foolish _hope..._

 _"_ Please, Adri. Answer me. Do you love me?"

Adri scoffed and shook her head. "You're a fool!"

Garan smiled, with only a touch of sadness. "I know."

The knot in Adri's chest loosened, and she felt a slight warmth spread throughout her body. She quickly yanked her wrist away and turned to walk away from him again.

"Do _I_ love you?" Adri laughed breathily, ironically. "For all of our marriage, I've cooked for this house. I've birthed and raised our girls. I've dealt with that faulty android. I've put on a smile when we had nothing." Adri clenched her fingers around the plate, then released them. She looked up at the ceiling and voiced what she was thinking. "We had an _arranged marriage._ Why are we talking about love? It is completely irrelevant to... to _everything!_ "

She spun around to give him an angry glare, but when she caught his expression, she stopped. He had this look that she had seen so rarely in her life. _Understanding._ His face was so soft, so gentle, so...

"The first time I met you was on our wedding day." Garan's lips quirked upward. "I was _terrified._ "

Adri had been too. It made sense to have been. Somehow, this information was still surprising. Nonsensical sense was something she hadn't a clue how to work with, but, nonetheless, she felt her limbs relax a little bit. This time, she let them. Her gaze dipped to the floor.

"I was shy."

"I was nervous."

Adri glanced back up at him and gave him a hint of a smile. "So was I."

Garan took a step towards her, those otherworldly eyes focused entirely on her. So gentle. He was smiling a bit too.

Adri thought of what her parents had said. _You'll learn to love him in time._ Adri tilted her head at Garan. She was quite sure he was thinking the same thing.

Perhaps his parents said something similar?

Garan took another step forward, and tenderly lifted her fingers, caressing her wedding ring with his thumb. Yes, she was very sure he was thinking of the same thing. She wasn't sure how she knew this.

"Now I'm asking, Adri, do you love me?"

His smile told her he already knew the answer, even if she didn't. Her guard immediately went up.

"I'm your _wife,"_ she sniffed. Garan chuckled, still stroking her wedding ring.

"I know... But-"

"Yes, yes, yes. 'Do I love you?'" Adri sighed. Somehow, Garan's physical affection helped her think better. She shook her head a little, thinking. "Again, for our entire marriage, I've argued with you, I've been patient with you, I've suffered with you..." She listed her head, now unsure of what was coming out of her mouth, only knowing that she meant it. "I've played with the girls with you, I've smiled with you, I've embroidered for you..." She set the plate down on a table. "For our marriage, I've shared everything with you."

Garan's eyes had softened. "I was thinking the same thing."

Adri smiled a little bit wider. The muscles around her mouth were sore. She didn't smile this genuinely often.

"I suppose that's love, if anything is."

Garan's face split into a huge grin and Adri couldn't help a small giggle. So unlike herself, yet in this moment, she was trapped in this ever-so-lovely fantasy world of Garan's. It wasn't so bad.

"So you love me?" Garan winked. Adri giggled again and stepped closer to him, tightening her grip on his hand.

"I suppose I do."

Garan laughed. "Then I _suppose_ I love you too."

He pulled her into a sweet, tender, _loving_ hug and she sighed happily against his shoulder. They swayed a little together, lost in something Adri didn't know existed.

 _I suppose I_ did _marry a dreamer._

That was something beautiful about him. He was a creator, whereas she hadn't ever known someone like that. Just by holding her, he had invented something new. She didn't ever remember a time where she had experienced this genuine of a touch.

Suddenly, she was warmer than she had felt in her lifetime.

"This doesn't change anything, you know, Garan," Adri remarked in an attempt to restore some sense into her brain. She felt the low rumble of a laugh of his chest, and the logic flew away again. She had never known how nice that felt, to make him laugh. Garan dropped a kiss on her head. Adri felt herself smile.

"Still. After so long..." he trailed off.

Adri nodded against his chest. "I suppose... It _is_ nice to know."

Adri pulled herself out of Garan's embrance and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. There was something so magical about that moment. So _purely_ magical. Adri could have been given every word there ever was and still wouldn't have been able to describe it. It was short, but it was an infinity.

And when Garan pulled back and looked into Adri's eyes... those deep, boundless eyes that always seemed to be in another world were finally, _finally,_ in this one.


End file.
